Four Thomas Heyward pitchers combined on a no-hitter and racked up 17 strikeouts, and the Rebels used a six-run fourth inning to propel them to a 10-5 win at New Hampstead in their season opener Tuesday.
Starter Zane Wilson struck out eight over three near-perfect frames, allowing only one man to reach on a hit by pitch, and Walker Taylor sat down seven on strikes in 2.2 innings of hitless relief with two walks, while Nick Wise and Eli Minton also contributed to the no-hitter.
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Carter Zareva was 2-for-4 with a double, two runs, and two RBIs to lead the Rebels at the plate, while Dylan Stuckey was 1-for-2 with a run and an RBI.
The Rebels scratched across the first run in the third, when Zareva led off with a single, stole second, moved to third on a groundout, and scored on a passed ball. They put up a big number in the fourth, pushing across six runs with two outs. Stuckey got the rally started with an RBI single, Zareva plated two with a double, and THA got aggressive on the bases to tack on three more.
Wise relieved Wilson and recorded the final out in the third but lost command in the fourth, walking two batters and hitting two more to start the inning. Taylor came on and got out of the jam, but not before forcing home two more runs with a walk and a hit by pitch as the Phoenix pulled within 7-3.
Another hit by pitch to start the fifth allowed New Hampstead to play small ball and manufacture a run with the aid of a THA error, but the Rebels regained the momentum in the top of the sixth with another two-out rally. Taylor got aboard with a two-out single, and four consecutive batters reached by walk or hit by pitch to force home two runs.
Max Hickey added a sacrifice fly in the seventh to make it 10-4, and the Rebels made a couple of miscues to allow New Hampstead to scratch across one run in the bottom before Minton put out the fire.
The Rebels (1-0) face St. John’s Christian at the Orangeburg Prep tournament on Monday.
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